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SEAL. No, 392,173. Patented Oct. 30, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

LEWIS A. BROWN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,173, dated October30, 1888.

Application filed July 19, 1888. Serial No. 280,359. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS A. BROWN, of St. Louis, Missouri, have made anew and useful Improvement in Seals, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The improvement relates to seals having or in part being composed of alabel. In many forms of sealsin certain forms of car-seals, forinstance-the seal is made to consist of a frangible plate and a label incombination, the frangible plate being employed to guard the fasteningofthe lock containing the seal in such manner as to necessitate thebreaking of the plate in order to reach the fastening, and the labelbeing applied to the frangible plate for the purpose of accomplishingits destruction whenever the frangible plate is broken, for should thefrangible plate be broken and removed without at the same timedestroying the label it becomes possible to reapply the label to anotherfrangible plate and then to substitute this second plate in the place ofthe original plate; but hitherto it has been found impracticable toreadily so apply the label to the frangible plate but that it can beremoved intact therefrom. The usual form of the frangible plate is apieceof glass, and however closely a label may be gummed thereto it isnot a difficult matter to separate it from the frangible plate in acondition to be used again.

To obviate this difficulty and to provide an improved seal is the aim ofthe present improvement, which consists in a plate and a labelsubstantially as before, but connected by molding the plate onto thelabel-that is to say, the plate is composed of a material capable ofbeing melted and then cast in a mold containing the label, and so as tocause the label to be fixed to a surface of the molded material. Thematerial should be, when cast, of a suitable shape and strength for thepurpose in question. It should be of such a nature as not to destroy ormaterially impair the integrity of the label by reason of its being castupon it. It should be practically insoluble in water. It should becomparatively inexpensive, and it should have such a nature relativelyto that of the material of the label as to prevent the label from beingremoved from it by an application of moisture or by the insertion of anyseparatl ing-tool between the label and the plate without at the sametime mutilating the label, so that the interference therewith is' atonce made manifest.

The improvement is best carried out in the following manner: I form acompound of sulphur, cement, and sand, taking of sulphur, by weight,nineteen parts; of cementsuch as Portland-forty-nine parts; of sand,fine, thirty-two parts 5 heat the ingredients to a temperature of about350 Fahrenheit, thoroughly mix them, and, at or about the temperaturenamed, pour the compound into the mold, having first placed the label,the printed side downward, in the bottom of the mold. The label shouldbe of a porous character, such as used in the average newspaper, andfree from gum or any substance calculated to prevent the sulphur of thecompound from penetrating the paper, for it is the sulphur which bondsthe label so that it cannot be peeled from the plate, and if it were notdesired to have a tougher stronger seal, as well as a cheaper one, theplate might be composed of sulphur only; but the cement operates totoughen and strengthen the plate and the sand to harden it and toincrease its body.

The proportions named of the ingredients I consider the best to use; butit is obvious that they can be considerably varied and yet enable avaluable result to be obtained.

The plate can of course be made of various shapes. The label, whileusually made of paper, it being adapted to adhere to the plate, capableof being printed and written upon,and economical in cost, can be made ofany equivalent material.

In the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, Figures 1and 2 are respectively a face and an edge view of the label; Figs. 3 and4, respectively, a face and a section of the seal; and Fig. 5, a backview of th seal.

The label A may have any suitable inscription or marks, a, upon itsface. The label may be coextensive with the face of the plate B; but, asshown in Figs. 3, 4, it is better to have the label somewhat smaller andcountersunk in the plate. In or upon its rear face the plate B may haveany mark or character, I), to distin- IO and sand, the label being ofpaper, and the guish its ownership or origin. The seal, esplate beingcast onto the label, substantially pecially the label portion, may bevarnished as described.

to better protect it. 3. A seal consisting of a plate and a label, Iclaimthe plate containing sulphur and being cast 1. A seal consisting ofa plate and a label, onto the label, substantially as described.

the plate being cast onto the label, substan- Vitness my hand.

tially as described. 'I'IEWIS A. 131% )WN.

2. A seal consisting of a plate and a label,

the plate being composed of sulphur, cement,

\Vitnesses:

(J. D. MOODY, .TAs. W. ALLEN.

